Health Report 2015 in India

India Health Report 2015

Union Health Minister, J. P. Nadda released the India Health Report: Nutrition 2015 on December 10. The report has been prepared by Transform Nutrition Consortium that analyses the current situation with nutrition at the national and state level in India.

The report shows that India still struggles to tackle malnutrition but the country has made major improvements in the last 10 years. The country meets two of the eight targets set by World Health Organisation (WHO).

Here are 10 facts about the report:

• According to the report, around 55 percent of Indian women aged between 15 and 49 have anaemia or low blood cell count

• Over 38 percent of children in India have stunted growth and 18.6 percent children under three years have low birth weight (under 2.5 kilograms)

• Around 63 percent of mothers in India, who have children aged under 36 months, have received three or more antenatal checkups

• Vaccination has also not reached its target as only 65.3 percent children of 12 to 23 months have received full immunisation

• Malnutrition is still prevalent in the country, as only 50.5 percent infants of six to eight months receive solid, semi-solid and soft food

• The report also shows that 69.5 percent of Indian children aged between six to 35 months are suffering from anaemia

• It also shows that as many as 44.7 percent of girls aged between 15 to 18 have low Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

• The report also points out that infant malnutrition might be a result of early marriage. It reveals that around 30 percent of women, aged 20 to 24, had been married before the age of 18

• Infant health has improved in India in the last 10 years as awareness about the correct baby diet has educated the mothers. At present, around 64.9 percent infants, aged under five months, are exclusively breastfed

• India's situation of malnutrition among children may pose bigger threats in health care for the country in the future. Only 21.3 percent of children under three years of age have received supplementary food recommended by Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) for 21 days, a month.